Chapter 120. Sirin: It's Time for Kiana to Start Being Useful
Seeing the screen suddenly go black, Xander and Sirin looked at each other.
"I—I'll make a call and ask!"
Sirin quickly took out her phone and dialed the person in charge of the streaming app.
Very soon, after learning the reason, Sirin came back to Xander and said a little awkwardly, "Just now, there were too many bullet comments all at once, and their servers couldn't handle it..."
"That's not on me. Their servers are just too weak."
He spread his hands and spoke with feigned helplessness.
"Pfft~"
Seele, who had been watching curiously from the side, couldn't help but laugh.
She leaned in to hug her brother's arm and said with a smile, "Looks like Brother's popularity is quite high right now."
"Pokémon is this hot already. It'd be strange if Xander's popularity were low. By the way, do you need a hat or something?"
Kiana also came over and tapped curiously on the unresponsive stream screen.
"Let's skip that. I'm not some celebrity. If I hadn't just said it out loud, how many people would really remember a game designer's face? It's not what I rely on to make a living."
From the fact that no one had come up to greet him along the way, it was clear enough.
People might feel that Xander looked familiar, but they wouldn't think more on it.
What everyone was most interested in were his games; everything else was just fluff.
If you get lost in fame and profit, that restless heart will never make a fun game again.
They got in the car and soon arrived at a stretch of continuous mountain woods.
Seeing the girls getting excited, Xander yawned again.
This area counted as Mei's family property.
No matter how wildly they played inside, there was no need to worry about safety.
So Xander decided not to go with them.
He took a hammock out of his bag, found two sturdy trees for support, and was lying in the hammock in no time.
The winter sun felt warmly pleasant, and drowsiness hit Xander at once.
He waved to the girls who were about to head up the mountain to catch a Legendary Pokémon, then slowly closed his eyes.
The weather was fine and the breeze gentle.
His breaths were filled with the freshness of nature.
Sleeping here was simply bliss.
On the other side, Sirin's stream started getting lively.
The stream had just been fixed, and now bullet comments were pouring in like crazy, urging Sirin to go find Xander.
"He's already asleep. Let's not disturb him."
Aiming the camera from a distance at the hammock at the foot of the mountain, Sirin explained.
[We gave you a chance and you didn't use it!]
[There are only a hundred Legendary Pokémon in the whole world. How could you be lucky enough to run into one? Might as well go film that guy and broaden our horizons.]
[Pufferfish, listen to your uncle's advice. Don't keep scheming about that 'B' Legendary of yours.]
[...]
Seeing the nonstop complaints in the bullet comments, Sirin could only say bitterly after explaining for a long time, "Alright, alright. I'll go find him properly later. That's fine, right!"
[This is such a good opportunity right now. Do you think he's someone you can meet whenever you want? Pufferfish, people need self-awareness.]
[It's only morning. Why are you already dreaming?]
[Lol.]
At this, Sirin suddenly got anxious.
"Hey!! We have a really good relationship!!!"
"If you don't believe me, just watch me invite him out alone next time!!"
After blurting that out angrily, Sirin suddenly froze.
Wait.
What did I just say?
Invite him out alone?
This, this, this—Isn't that a date?!!
Her eyes were still on the bullet comments, which were as noisy as ever, but Sirin's thoughts were already far away, and her heartbeat began to accelerate.
If I take this opportunity, then maybe I can with him...
The moment the thought surfaced, it spread through her mind like a virus.
Of course, of course—Sirin felt she had no special thoughts.
It was purely to prove something to her fans!
Yes, that's all!!
It's just that sending a solo invitation herself was still a bit embarrassing.
So, if this could be said by someone else...
Because the stream had put her behind the others, Sirin slowly lifted her head and cast a meaningful glance at Kiana, who was frolicking at the front.
Having grown up together, it was time for her own sister to be useful.
...
At the foot of the mountain, Xander had a wonderful nap until noon.
Only then did his tired body finally feel a bit better.
Rubbing his waist, Xander sat up.
Two people he could barely handle, but three was getting a bit tough.
That gap couldn't be made up by training alone.
He remembered hearing Cocolia say that Schicksal's gene modulation could selectively enhance the functions of certain organs.
He wondered if it could...
His mind wandered.
He took out the sandwich and juice that Seele had left him for lunch, eating while opening the group chat with his bros.
After giving them a heads-up in the chat, a multi-person call soon came through from their side.
"Did you all read the materials?"
Xander swallowed a bite of sandwich and spoke to the phone resting on his legs.
"Read them. All I can say is, worthy of you~" Ken Sugisaki exclaimed.
He had stayed up late last night to finish reading the game design doc.
The more he read, the more amazed he felt.
The gameplay looked so simple, yet it had a strangely compelling pull.
"This is the best level design I've ever seen. I dare say any person with normal intelligence can play this game smoothly without any tutorials."
Recalling the design of the early stages, Kirito also remarked with feeling.
"...I don't know how to put it, but it feels like this game will be really fun."
Kitahara scratched his head and said with a goofy smile.
"Fun is exactly the most important thing for a game," Xander replied with a smile.
Finishing the last bite of his sandwich, Xander brushed the crumbs from his hands, then picked up his milk.
"Alright, since you've read it, start discussing how to make it. I won't hand-hold you, but I'll sit in and listen. If there's anything unclear after you finish, you can ask me."
He paused, then added, "Of course, if you make any serious mistakes in the overall direction, I'll correct you in time. Relax and do it. Don't worry about making mistakes. Trial and error is an essential step to achieving a goal."
At the end, Xander curled his lips and gave them one last push.
"To be honest with you, I'm training you all to be leads for large-scale games. Anything I know, I'll teach you without holding back. But how much you can learn is up to you. If someone falls behind, then a few years from now when we all work together again...you get what I mean?"
Hearing this, a scene immediately formed in the minds of the three.
At the table, the three bros were all the bosses, and only he was still a grunt...
They shuddered at once, looked at each other, and made a secret resolution!
So it's just "grinding"?
We'll grind hard!
Others want to grind and don't even have this chance!!
"Alright, that's all from me. You guys discuss first. I'll just listen here."
Lying back down in the hammock, Xander spoke lazily.
Very soon, the sound of a heated discussion rang from the phone.
The fired-up atmosphere made Xander's smile deepen.
He could already see the bright future of his fine workho—Oh no, his fine brothers!
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